“Yes, and we’re not entirely sure how he’s done that, because Ed’s being carefully monitored out there. But what’s your take? Do you think he’s talked to Ed about the Maria Nuovo—about you?”
Finn thought of Karasek’s obsessive desire to get Katerina back, that thought mixed up now with the memory of Harry telling him that he was falling for her. It was a madness he couldn’t quite comprehend, but he knew the way people acted around obsessions like that—obsessions of any kind.
“He won’t tell Ed, and even the cocaine’s a sideshow. This girl, whoever she is, this girl is all he’s thinking about.”
“All we really know about the girl is that she was in an orphanage, thirteen years old, that she was lured away and trafficked out here. I shudder to think what a man like Karasek would do to her.”
“Presumably he knows the girl? I mean, if she was just a random girl he could replace her easily enough, whatever he wants her for.”
Louisa smiled, leaned forward, and picked up her glass, taking a sip before putting it down again.
“We wondered about that, but we caught a couple of his men talking about it. The girl comes from some provincial city. Karasek was there on business and just happened to see her walking down the street. And that was all it took, he fell head over heels in love with her, and told his men to set about enticing her away.”
It’s not what you think—that was what Karasek had said.
“At least he doesn’t want her for a snuff movie.”
“That’s a very male response.”
He wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but he said, “Louisa, I’m not suggesting being kidnapped and forced into a relationship with a man in his thirties is a happy outcome, but who knows where she is now, what danger she might be in.”
Louisa nodded, accepting the point, the clearest suggestion yet that she didn’t know what had really happened, and she looked vaguely hopeful as she said, “Someone rescued her from his man—a girl of her age couldn’t have inflicted those injuries on her own—so we just have to hope that her rescuer is just that. And, beyond that, I’m afraid it’s not really our problem.”
“So what happens now?”
“Very simple. Take the documents to him tomorrow. Go away on your long weekend . . .”
“I can do that?”
“Yes, I think so. Actually, might be better for you to be away Friday and Saturday, let the air clear.”
“You know I’m planning to stay here, so is there any reason, once it’s all done, that I can’t be exonerated?”
She sounded hesitant, and less than convincing, as she said, “No, I don’t think so. If it all goes entirely to plan. If we don’t achieve everything, you may have to keep that black mark—that’s the nature of deep cover, I’m afraid.”
Until now, he’d thought the only way the plan could fail was by not finding enough evidence against Perry. Karasek had been so firmly on the hook from the start that Finn had developed a certain complacency, and yet past experience told him there was every chance of the operation going wrong, of Karasek walking. And if it did, how could he stay in Tallinn then, or even in Estonia?
Louisa had known that from the start, of course she had, and he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction now of knowing that he’d overlooked it. Instead, he said, “And Ed, what happens with him?”
“He arrives back Friday, we parachute him into Sparrowhawk as a glorified observer. And then, in the inquest, the comments you’ve elicited from Karasek will rise to the fore. All very low-key, the way we like it.”
“Of course,” said Finn, and he was glad he hadn’t been privy to much of the detail for this operation, because the more he heard, the more doubtful he was about all of it.
Louisa looked at her watch and said, “Goodness, I’ll have to fly, but well done, Finn, a good job so far. When will you be back?”
“Sunday morning.”
“Good, well, let’s catch up then.”
He showed her to the door, and wondered once she’d gone why she hadn’t asked him where he was going. But that was simply paranoia, because he knew the most plausible explanation was that Louisa simply wasn’t interested.
He spent the next morning in the internal exile of the office, speaking to no one, hardly seeing anyone. He didn’t see Rachel, or Harry, though in the latter case he was almost relieved. He was no longer sure he’d quite know how to look Harry in the face.
After lunch, he printed the documents and took them to Klub X. Karasek was overlooking the redecoration of his office, but immediately showed Finn into the other office. A woman was working in there, but she stood without needing to be told and left.
Karasek flicked through the papers once he was sitting, then settled back on the top sheet with a smile as he said, “This has your email address on it.”
“That’s correct. You could use that to get me in a lot of trouble. I thought about removing it, but I see it as a symbol of our mutual trust—if we’re partners in this, we’re partners, simple as that.”